Be afraid would be an understatement if the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)'s latest report on Indian airlines is to be believed.

Apart from Kingfisher Airlines and Air India Express, other carriers such as IndiGo, SpiceJet, GoAir, Jet Airways and JetLite also have a patchy track record on passenger safety.

The DGCA has found that financial distress was leading airlines to violate mandatory safety norms. "One airline does not report incidents that compromise on safety, another does not have the technology for two-way communication with its planes, the third appoints a top operations officer who is not a pilot and all Indian carriers face a serious shortage of aviation safety officials mandatorily required," says the report based on the financial audit carried out by the aviation regulator.

IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir are understood to be either not maintaining crucial data for safe flights or lowering the threshold for flight operational quality assurance (FOQA). FOQA is a technique to capture and analyse data generated by a flying aircraft to find new ways to improve safety.

Leading cargo carrier Blue Dart, the DGCA says, did not have a dedicated channel for two-way communication for aircraft, JetLite did not possess the software to monitor the digital flight data recorder ( black box) and GoAir did not carry out engineering audits, a mandatory safety requirement.

The carriers have been told to take immediate measures to resolve the lapses. However, the DGCA made it clear that no airlines will be closed down. It has pulled up the airlines for flouting safety norms. It has also summoned the CEOs of Kingfisher and Air India Express, asking both the carriers to give their recovery plan on flight safety within a week.

Kingfisher is expected to explain its position on Monday.The heads of other airlines will also have to appear before the DGCA.